SNK NeoGeo USA has today announced that it will publish King of Fighters: Maximum Impact in North America this fall. First sighted at last year's Tokyo Game Show, the game is being developed exclusively for the PlayStation 2 and will be the first in the long-running series to be presented in 3D.

　　"The King of Fighters franchise is one of the anchor franchises of the SNK product line," said Ben Herman, SNK NeoGeo president. "We're confident that KOF fans worldwide will be very excited about this great evolution for the series."

　　SNK NeoGeo USA revealed details of the game's plot, which will profile the King of Fighter contestants' battle against a group of underworld street gangs. The game will feature five modes--story mode, versus battle, survival, practice, and training--as well as a bevy of new moves such as the knock-back attack.

　　King of Fighters: Maximum Impact will also feature total of 24 SNK characters, including six all-new to the franchise and four unlockable bonus characters. Fourteen characters will be returning KOF favorites like Terry Bogard and Kyo Kusanagi. We'll bring you more information on the game as soon as it becomes available.